An insulated concrete form rests on top of a set of pipes on the garage floor of a net zero house on Friday, Aug. 8, 2014, in Brunswick, N.Y. The form makes up the exterior frame and interior insulation. Concrete blocks are set inside the form to make the construction sturdy. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union) less

An insulated concrete form rests on top of a set of pipes on the garage floor of a net zero house on Friday, Aug. 8, 2014, in Brunswick, N.Y. The form makes up the exterior frame and interior insulation. ... more

In rural Rensselaer County, Halfmoon Construction is erecting a net zero home for a retired state worker.

In rural Rensselaer County, Halfmoon Construction is erecting a net zero home for a retired state worker.

Image 9 of 13

In rural Rensselaer County, Halfmoon Construction is erecting a net zero home for a retired state worker.

In rural Rensselaer County, Halfmoon Construction is erecting a net zero home for a retired state worker.

Image 10 of 13

In rural Rensselaer County, Halfmoon Construction is erecting a net zero home for a retired state worker.

In rural Rensselaer County, Halfmoon Construction is erecting a net zero home for a retired state worker.

Image 11 of 13

In rural Rensselaer County, Halfmoon Construction is erecting a net zero home for a retired state worker.

In rural Rensselaer County, Halfmoon Construction is erecting a net zero home for a retired state worker.

Image 12 of 13

In rural Rensselaer County, Halfmoon Construction is erecting a net zero home for a retired state worker.

In rural Rensselaer County, Halfmoon Construction is erecting a net zero home for a retired state worker.

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It may be every homeowner's new American dream: no utility bill.

Or better yet, getting a check from the utility.

Net-zero energy construction techniques attempt to make this dream real. These are buildings that produce more energy than they consume, using techniques ranging from solar electric and hot water panels to geothermal heating and cooling systems, all packaged in an extremely well insulated structure filled with such energy-saving technology as light-emitting diodes and Energy Star-rated appliances.

In rural Rensselaer County, Halfmoon Construction is erecting a net zero home for a retired state worker.

From the outside, the 3,600-square-foot home looks like a Styrofoam bunker. That'll all change, said Andy Ellis, who heads the construction firm, when stone facing and vinyl siding go up on the exterior and traditional wallboard covers interior walls. Then it will look just like any other traditional home.

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The Styrofoam frames, held together by plastic struts, were assembled like giant Lego pieces, with a gap of several inches between the inner and outer sheets later filled with concrete. The Styrofoam/concrete sandwich ends up being about a foot thick, Ellis said.

Ellis said the homeowner uses solar panels to produce electricity and others to heat water. In this case, sustainability is also key. The metal roof will efficiently collect rainwater, directing it through gutters into cisterns in the lower level.

While much of that so-called non-potable water will be used for flushing toilets and watering plants in an extensive garden, a well will produce potable water for cooking and other uses.

With lights consisting of energy-sipping light emitting diodes, and excess current stored in battery banks to be used when the sun's not shining, the owner expects to have plenty of surplus to send back into the electric grid.

Originally, he planned to be completely off the grid, but Ellis said the bank wouldn't provide a mortgage unless he was connected.

NYSERDA's Zatlin also said grid hookups are required of projects it assists.

"If there's solar and they produce more than they use, they can get a credit" from the utility, she said, in this case National Grid.

An exchanger brings fresh air into the house, heating it in the winter with heat from the indoor air.

At a foot thick, exterior walls are far thicker than than those in traditional stick-built houses, something that's apparent in the window wells. The windows are also efficient, Ellis said.

The solid walls have some other advantages. They're soundproof, they likely won't rot, and the Logix panels, when filled with concrete, can sustain winds of greater than 300 mph, according to the company, although the roof in this case, of traditional wood construction, likely wouldn't fare as well.

The house is being constructed for about $300,000, Ellis said.

While this is likely one of the few net-zero energy homes locally, it may not be the first.

Last October, an organization called Our Energy Independence Community sponsored a tour of energy-efficient buildings that included at least two that were described as net-zero homes, one in Scotia and another in Clifton Park.

The tour, part of a larger event sponsored by the Greenfield, Mass.-based Northeast Sustainable Energy Association, also highlighted commercial buildings, training programs for builders, and even some historic buildings that had been retrofitted to make them more energy-efficient.

Meanwhile, a local developer is planning a $20-million, 156-unit net-zero energy apartment complex on Burdeck Street in Rotterdam. The developer, David Bruns of Bruns Realty, couldn't be reached for comment.

How does a consumer know whether a building is truly net-zero energy?

The Residential Energy Services Network, or RESNet, trains and certifies home energy rating system (HERS) raters, who in turn certify buildings such as the one Ellis is building. The organization, formed in 1995 by the National Association of State Energy Officials and Energy Rated Homes of America, sought to create a national market for home energy rating systems.

Ellis said a HERS rater is working with him on the house Halfmoon Construction is building. The homeowner is seeking assistance from NYSERDA's Low-rise Residential New Construction Program, although he said no commitment has yet been received.

The Rotterdam project also will have to meet certain milestones to qualify for NYSERDA financial assistance.

"NYSERDA has committed $2.1 million in support from the Low-rise Residential New Construction Program, the NY-Sun incentive program and the Solar Thermal (Hot Water) program," Zatlin said, "with payment contingent upon the project reaching specific milestones throughout the construction."

Ellis said the net-zero home he's working on will be completed this fall, just in time to face the toughest season for energy usage. He expects it will pass the test with flying colors.